Parent Information
Everything you need to know about attending Charlton with Cropthorne Pre-School
Key Dates & Times
Sessions
We are open Monday to Friday during term time
Monday
8.45am - 3.00pm
Tuesday
8.45am - 3.00pm
Wednesday
8.45am - 3.00pm
Thursday
8.45am - 3.00pm
Friday
8.45am - 1.00pm
Children can start from 2.5 years of age, with a bit of leeway to start earlier if they are ready and we have space available.
​
Younger children usually stay for the morning session until 12 noon, adding a lunch hour till 1pm or the full afternoon when they are ready.
​
Children must attend a minimum of 2 sessions of 3 hours across 2 days.
​
​
Term 2025/2026
Autumn
Tuesday 2nd September 2025 - Wednesday 17th December
Half Term Monday 27th October – Friday 31st October 2025
Spring
Tuesday 6th January 2026 – Friday 27th March 2026
Half Term Monday 16th February – Friday 20th February 2026
Summer
Tuesday 14th April 2026 – Friday 17th July 2026
Half Term Monday 25th May – Friday 29th May 2026
Fees and Free Pre-school Education
From September 2025 our fees will be £24.00 for our 3 hour morning session for 2 year old children plus £8.00 for each additional hour; payable each half term.
Our hourly rate from September 2025 for 3 and 4 year olds will be £6.00 per hour (this takes into account the higher staff:child ratio required for 2 year olds).
​​​
From the start of the term after your child's 3rd birthday, every child is entitled to up to 15 hours of Pre-school education per week, funded by Worcestershire County Council. Some working parents of 9 month to 4 year old children are entitled to an additional 15 hours funding and other 2 year olds can also claim up to 15 hours.
​
A voluntary Activities and snack charge will be added to each Funded Child's invoice of £1.30 a morning (to include lunchtime) and £1.90 for a full day.
At Charlton with Cropthorne Preschool we have a voluntary Activities and snack charge which tops up the inadequate amount of Government funding we receive for your child’s Preschool place. In essence it’s a voluntary charge that we need to provide your child with the enrichments we do; in the summer term so far it has funded; coach trip to All things wild and a packed lunch, ballet sessions, weekly sports sessions, Coach trip to Nature Nuts, additional staff to enable us to go on the miniature steam train at Cropthorne, additional staff to enable us to walk to Big school’s sports day, our end of term party with entertainment and lunch, father’s day gifts, Sports day bouncy castle etc…
Due to changes to the Government Funding Agreement guidelines, we will now ask you to opt in or out of paying a snack and activities fee for your child each month. As before, this fee is voluntary. If you opt out of paying this fee, you will be expected to provide the resources, gifts etc that the snack and activities fee would cover, your child will not take part in activities with paid professionals such as; ballet and sports (an alternative activity following the EYFS will be run), you will be expected to provide a healthy snack for you child each day – all of these would need to be discussed and agreed upon beforehand.
​
More information about help available with pre-school education is available on the UK Government Official Website
Curriculum
Charlton with Cropthorne Pre-School operates within the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) framework. This sets out:
-
the legal welfare requirements we must follow to keep your child safe and promote their welfare
-
the areas of learning and development which guide our engagement with your child as they play and learn
-
assessments that tell you about your child's progress and expected levels your child should reach by age 5
Find out more about the EYFS Framework 2023
Home Learning
Our Key Person system offers you regular contact and information; in person and on Tapestry. We will offer suggestions of next steps and ideas to try at home.
Please come and chat to either your child's Key Person or any member of staff and we can offer suggestions.
SENco
The ratio of staff to children in Pre-school enables us to provide individual attention to each child enabling them to progress at their own rate in all areas of development whether or not they have additional needs. We are experienced in working with professionals across a range of additional needs. We would welcome you to discuss your child's individual needs.
​
Our Senco is Vicky Morris.
​
SEND Local Offer Information and advice for families with children and young people with SEN and/or disabilities.
Safeguarding
Our Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) is Vicky Morris and our Deputy DSL is Nic Carter also trained as a safeguarding lead.
If you feel you can’t speak to any of us about your concerns you could speak to Rebecca Sutton (our Safeguarding committee members) or download our Safeguarding fact sheet below for more information.​​